Atomic force microscopy carried out in tapping mode can provide a high resolution surface map by measuring deflection of a cantilever probe moving across the surface of a sample. Chemical force microscopy (CFM) expands this method to detect chemical bonding forces between chemical groups on the sample surface by attachment of ligands, the sensing molecules, to the probe and measuring the pulling force required to move the cantilever across the sample surface. The typical functionalization scheme includes coating of the cantilever probes with gold and other metals followed by incubation with bifunctional ligands containing one thiol end. In some examples, the desired ligands need to have thiol groups incorporated into their structure by chemical synthesis, or the thiol compound must have an amine or other functional group that will bind or can be coupled to the desired ligand. The thiol compounds used are generally alkane thiols, which are volatile and have an unpleasant odor. A more serious concern is the unstable nature of the gold-thiol bond due to migration on the gold surface as well as oxidation by oxygen in air or displacement through thiol exchange with thiol groups of compounds present in experimental solutions, for example, the amino acid cysteine.